McWeeny has a theory about this movie

Drew McWeeny, one-time "Moriarty" over at Ain't It Cool News, took the Into Darkness press tour over at Bad Robot yesterday.

He has a theory about what Abrams is doing with this movie.

But… one last thing. In the trailer, you've seen the shot where Cumberbatch jumps, lands, and then swats a dude using a huge long hunk of metal. Well, that hunk of metal is what the crew on the film called "The Big Gun." That's what we were told during our tour, and as everyone was discussing it, we were standing in a room that had been specially set up for today's event.

And on the counter at the back of the room, there was a big book of production art that was open. Laying right there were anyone could see it. And on one of the two pages, there was a concept design sketch for that gun. But instead of "The Big Gun," it was called "April's Gatling Gun."

As in the gun that April uses. The gun that seems to belong to Cumberbatch in the trailer, which would suggest that Cumberbatch is April.

You see what I mean about misdirection? What if they intentionally left that there, open to that page, in the exact area where everyone was standing, just to help obfuscate everything even more?

Or… even crazier… what if they really didn't think anyone would pay attention to that, and that's really what they're doing for this film?

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You can read his report about the tour and his theory in its entirety here:

Well gee, why should anyone care about one more piece of speculation by another fan journalist on the Internet?

No special reason except for this, published by the self-same writer in August of 2007:

Because evidently the plan is to use this second timeline as a way of rebooting without erasing or ignoring canon. These new voyages of the ENTERPRISE, they’re taking place in whatever timeline starts with this story. Maybe this timeline features dramatic differences. Like... say... if Vulcan were to be blown up. If the Vulcans in the series were suddenly the last of their kind, alone in the universe, it would change who they are and maybe even redefine their strict rejection of emotion in favor of logic.

Whatever else one thinks of him, McWeeny is a rarity on the net: instead of pretending he knows when he's just guessing, he sometimes pretends to be guessing when he's got real information.

We'll see.

Some other interesting tidbits:

We visited Props and Costumes first, where, as if to make people crazy, Alice Eve was revealed to us today to be playing Carol Marcus. You know… the woman from "Wrath Of Khan" who had an affair with Kirk and who is raising his son? That does not appear to be her role here, though, so it'll be fun to see how they introduce her. For example, also in the film? Admiral Marcus, who is evidently her father.

Qo'noS, the home planet of the Klingons, is definitely in the film, and we saw an outfit of hers (a formal dress Naval miniskirt ensemble that did a great job of evoking the awesome aesthetic of the original show), an outfit of his, and most notably, a Klingon warrior's armor. They've been sure to incorporate things like the original design elements like the Klingon's symbol, but with lots of new touches as well. We saw Spock's volcano suit, a great practical bit of design that took four months from idea to final execution, and we heard how important it was for Abrams to make sure you'd see the flames reflecting on the suit to help sell the volcano sequence. We saw Uhura's wetsuit, complete with jetboots to help propel her underwater, which you'll see on Zoe Saldana in the 9-minute IMAX 3D prologue that's playing in front of these engagements of "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey". 3D IMAX wetsuit-wearing Zoe Saldana? Are you sure this isn't a Christmas movie?

We also saw the robes that Kirk and Bones (Karl Urban) are wearing when they're fleeing from a group of aliens in that same prologue, and some of the props designed for the film as well. Things like the phasers and the communicators and the tricorders are all careful to fit into the new design of the film while still evoking the classic designs. For example, you'll see there's a mesh piece on the communicator cover now that wasn't there before but that suggests the look of the originals. [LEFT]Read more at http://www.hitfix.com/motion-captur...t-star-trek-into-darkness#OX2O1b0lhAdk6uYw.99
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They're both British, but I can't see Cumberbatch as Robert April, nor April having a BFG. Why? Orci and Kurtzman based their version of George Kirk on Diane Carey's, from her novels Final Frontier (no relation to STV) and Best Destiny - and in those books, Robert April was a pacifist. To the extent that when it came time to open fire on the Romulans, he chose to turn command of the Enterprise over to George rather than order the attack himself.

They're both British, but I can't see Cumberbatch as Robert April, nor April having a BFG. Why? Orci and Kurtzman based their version of George Kirk on Diane Carey's, from her novels Final Frontier (no relation to STV) and Best Destiny - and in those books, Robert April was a pacifist. To the extent that when it came time to open fire on the Romulans, he chose to turn command of the Enterprise over to George rather than order the attack himself.

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Given that it appears the villain suffered some sort of trauma (why else would he be bent on revenge?), he could have been a pacifist before, but isn't now.

Of course, "April's Gatling Gun" could always mean a design sketch for a Gatling Gun prop needed for filming in April. A timeframe just about within the shooting schedule, since they began in January and finished 4 or 5 months after.

Well, that sort of plays into my (admittedly far-fetched) theory over at the trailer-thread that somehow this whole movie ties into the Tarsus-massacre. I know it's not canon - but in the "Enterprise Logs" it was April in command of the Enterprise who got delayed by Klingons in bringing aid to Tarsus IV and so they arrived too late...

Of course, he can't be the captain of the Enterprise prior to Pike since the Enterprise was built later than in TOS, but he could have had command over another ship etc. And that could also explain the troubles with the Klingons... revenge against both, Klingons and Starfleet... OTOH, Cumberbatch (although he seems a bit bulkier and aged up) isn't old enough to be April - but he could still be a survivor, perhaps that guy with the eye patch that got killed by Karidian's daughter at the beginning of "The Conscience of the King".

I would love it if this was true. I really like the idea of Robert April, the benevolent elder Captain from the prime universe, being reimagined as a vengeance-crazed threat to the fleet in this timeline. Appeals to me much more than Khan, Mitchell or George Lennon (or whatever he's called).

I would love it if this was true. I really like the idea of Robert April, the benevolent elder Captain from the prime universe, being reimagined as a vengeance-crazed threat to the fleet in this timeline. Appeals to me much more than Khan, Mitchell or George Lennon (or whatever he's called).